May 10th, 2008
New York City New York
It was only just a week ago on May 3rd when the Tribeca
Performing Arts Theatre in downtown Manhattan played host to the ‘100 Most Influential People Awards', and although the May 10th weekend set aside at the same venue for the 2008 IFBB New York Pro Bodybuilding Championships may not have managed to land anyone in that very prestigious group, it did go a long way in establishing three qualifiers for the upcoming 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia contest - that most influential bodybuilding event in the world of muscle. Sponsored by Species Nutrition , this year's Big Apple muscle bash drew a solid field of 20 contestants from nine countries. As diverse as the number of countries represented, the diversity also followed in the range of physiques to be judged.
Ever since Cathy Lefrancois decided it was her desire to return to bodybuilding after making an ill-fated switch to figure competitions in 2005, she has been tunnel-focused in her efforts. The culmination of those efforts can to fruition on Saturday night when she returned to the top of the victory stand with an overall look that was exactly what judges had in mind as a champion and IFBB Olympia qualifier.
In a first round prejudging callout that included Rosemary Jennings, Debi Laszewski,
Lefrancois, Jeannie Paparone, Annie Rivieccio and Dena Westerfield, a top six had been quickly established. Each woman in her own way presented a decidedly different look as virtually none of the first six called out carried a strong resemblance to any other in the group. Still, it was Lefrancois who stood out with her dazzling combination of structural balance, muscular detail, stage presence, and special attention personal appearance to that others were missing at some level.
Lefrancois also played giant killer in this field as a 5-2, 130-pound veteran competitor (the smallest in this event) that many fans might forget has been at the pro level since 1995. In fact, before her dabbling in figure contests during 2005, Lefrancois had placed fourth at two IFBB Ms. Olympias in 2000 and 2003. She also won her class at the 2003 IFBB Ms. International. That victory in the '03 IFBB Ms. International was Lefrancois' last pro bodybuilding victory and she was overjoyed to earn her first win in five years.
Along the way to this IFBB New York Pro victory, Lefrancois finished ninth at the 2006 IFBB Atlantic City Pro, followed by a 10th-place finish at the 2007 IFBB Ms. International.
Taking another year to further return to the level of physique she felt she needed to favorably impress bodybuilding judges, Lefrancois returned once again to the IFBB Ms. International in 2008 and dazzled everyone with a sixth-place finish that many observers felt went undervalued. She came away from that event frustrated in having missed qualifying for the IFBB Ms. Olympia by one placing.
So, once again she went into tunnel vision mode and trained with a passion that went above and beyond mere mortals as she even continued to train with an injury that included broken bones in her foot that tested her pain threshold on a daily basis.
The result was well worth the wait. "I'm very happy," said the understated Lefrancois after her win. "I wanted to prove I could be a good bodybuilder again, and I wanted to make it back to the 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia. Now I have five months to be the best I have ever been when it comes time to go to Las Vegas."
For her efforts, Lefrancois collected $4,000 for her first place finish.
Runner-up Jeannie Paparone, by virtue of her placement and winning $2,000 in the process, also has five months before she competes at the 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia in Las Vegas. The difference is she lives in Las Vegas, so she will become an automatic hometown favorite. For Paparone, this event was also a bodybuilding homecoming making her first appearance in a pro contest since she competed at the IFBB Europa in 2006. The middleweight winner at the 2002 NPC Nationals, Paparone made her pro debut at the 2003 IFBB Night of Champions (finishing third) and was a solid placer who had designs on qualifying for the IFBB Ms. Olympia long before this 2008 contest.
"Better late than never," said Paparone with a wide grin. "My life is back on the right track now and I feel good about coming back to competition. I had some personal things to straighten out, and now I feel that I can give bodybuilding the effort it deserves. I worked hard to get into the shape I reached at this contest, and I'm thrilled the judges noticed. I've always had a goal to compete in the IFBB Ms. Olympia, and to be able to do it where I live is very special."
The level of condition Paparone showed here was also special. In fact she was finely detailed throughout her physique with her frontal pecs, back and traps highlighting her newly crafted physique. She was spot on, and left little with which to find fault.
Grabbing the third and final 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia qualifying position was former New Yorker Rosemary Jennings. This event's designated ‘block of granite', Jennings, who was the 2002 overall NPC USA champion, carried a level of muscle density unmatched in the entire field. Another veteran performer who was coming off her appearance at the 2008 IFBB Ms. International, Jennings showed her patented forearms, thick lats, and a set of triceps that were strikingly cross-striated. A former overall winner at this contest in 2005, her third-place purse of $1,000 helped soften the blow of not repeating her second New York win.
Top Fivers
Without the convenience of viewing an official score sheet after the event had ended, we can only make an assumption as to who finished fourth and fifth overall. Based on the fact that both Dena Westerfield and Debi Laszewski were brought out in the final top five before the field was narrowed to the top three, Laszewski and Westerfield would be logical choices. During the awards presentation, Laszewski was honored with a ‘Best Poser' award, but it would be a sure bet she would have gladly traded that award for a qualifying position at the IFBB Ms. Olympia.
Final Results
1 Cathy Lefrançois *
2 Jeannie Paparone *
3 Rosemary Jennings *
4 Dena Westerfield
5 Debbie Laszewski
6 Annie Rivieccio
7 Debbie Bramwell
8 Tina Chandler
9 Saskia Salemink
10 Antoinette Norman-Thompson
11 Mercedes Bazemore
12 Colette Nelson
13 Angela Debatin
14 Kim Buck
15 Mario Calo
16 Guisy Caputo
17 Aurelia Grozajova
* Qualifies for the 2008 IFBB Ms. Olympia
For Complete Results and Photos Go Here:
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Photo Credit: Bill Comstock
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